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DISABILITY POLITICS AND VETERANS WITH DISABILITIES Amanda Kraus, Ph. D., and Nick Rattray, Doctoral Candidate The University of Arizona

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Abstract  Using data from the Disabled Veterans Reintegration and Education Project at the University of Arizona, this presentation will discuss how experiences of disability are influenced by military service, the intersections of veteran and disability identity, and associated developmental processes. Implications for the larger disability community and higher education will be explored.

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Finest of the Finest: Injured in Service “Veterans are the finest citizens, and disabled veterans are the finest of the finest” or two times a citizen: ‘military citizenship,’ a new form of identity” (Messinger, 2008).

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Identity quotes  “I’ve been avoiding the Disability Resource Center (DRC) like it was the plague”  “Well, I got PTSD. They gave me that last year or so. Back and knees and just basic joint stuff. Well, I got actually—not too long ago I got diagnosed with a mild TBI just from getting tossed around the back of a truck, hit with a couple explosions, but that’s about it. No puncture wounds or gun shots or anything like that.”

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Identity quotes  “Do you identify as a person with a disability?” I’m finding it hard to identify that way. I’m just now–you saw me in the DRC, and I’m just now finally saying, “Yeah, I can’t learn as well as I used to be able to,” so it’s like–I guess yes-ish, I guess they’re getting me.”

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Resources for veterans and non- veterans  Resource distribution  Rehabilitation and products that other disabled people cannot access, do not deserve  Disability disqualifies from military service  Creates divide in vets community between visible/invisible, physical/non-physical, tangible/intangible

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Implications  Expand definition of disability and reframe ideas around access  Multiple disabilities versus silos  Rehabilitation shapes disability identity development  VA Goal: disability can be fixed Back to service Better than before  Reality: a new normal